Big Idea - The world is increasingly being driven by fear and hate, but we are to be characterized by a life free from fear, a life of boldness and courage, and a life of extraordinary love for each other. A life filled with God’s love for each other that spills over into our love for the world. But, if we are honest, we must admit that we do not love others the way God loves us, and our life is far too often plagued with anxieties, if not all-out fear. How can we grow this love of God so that it is indeed the way we live in relationship within the body of Christ?

Love is perfected in us, John says, as we abide in God and in His love. That love needs to be perfected in us reminds us that it doesn't happen all at once. It is a process that we must grow in. It is primarily a work of God who loved us first, but we do have our part in the process. It begins with the gift of the Spirit, who gives us the capacity to understand what God has done for us and gives us eyes to see. What we must see and understand is the vital apostolic witness concerning the person and work of Jesus, the Son of God. Our part is to confess that Jesus is who He claims to be through the witness of the apostles and with the illuminating help of the Spirit. The result is that we come to know and to believe the love that God has for us - knowledge and faith that makes an eternal impact in our life - it changes us! The more we grow in the knowledge of God's love and the more we are convinced it is true, the more His love is perfected in us, and the more we abide in God and in His love. The evidence or proof of His love being perfected in us is a life free from fear and filled with love for others. If we are plagued by fear, it is an indicator that we do not really know and believe in God's love to the fullest extent. We doubt and are unsure of His love and goodness toward us. Likewise, if we hate our brother, meaning we do not really love those in the body of Christ as God loves, this, too, is a sign that the love of God is not making the impact in us that it must make.